Jagjit Singh had performed on stage after the last rites of his mother, recalls composer Sandesh Shandilya highlighting the Ghazal maestro's dedication towards his craft

Jagjit Singh has left a huge void ever since he passed away as one has hardly seen anyone like him whose ghazals and voice straight away struck a chord in our hearts. While his ghazals often may have been drenched in melancholy, his life was also filled with lots of tragedies. But what remain unchanged is his dedication towards his craft. In a recent interview, music composer Sandesh Shandilya has spoken about Jagjit Singh and his passion, dedication towards his craft.So much so, that he straight away performed on stage for hours after his mother's demise.
Sandesh said in a recent interview with Siddharth Kannan, "Jagjit ji was at the Mumbai airport. He was about to leave for Calcutta when he received a call. He told all his musicians at the airport to leave for Calcutta without him and that he will join them on stage later in the day. In the evening, he got on the stage and performed.”
He added, “When the performance was over, the organiser came crying to him and he stopped him. He told the organiser not to say a word. The call that he had received at the airport was to inform him of his mother’s demise. He went to Delhi from Mumbai, performed her last rites and flew to Calcutta to do the show the same evening. He is the definition of an artiste.”
Singh had lost his only son Vivek Singh in 1990 in an accident and he was just 20 years old. Not to mention, when Jagjit married Chitra Singh, she already had a daughter from her first marriage. Jagjit embraced Chitra's daughter like his own. But even she died by suicide in 2009.
Jagjit Singh had passed away in the year 2011.